Tumbler registering mark applicator



Nov. l, 1966 E. A. NQWAKy 3,282,245

TUMBLER REGISTERING MARK APPLICATOR @l INVENTOR [dw/MJ@ MW" k BY C?, Y M y,

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Nov. l, 1966 E. A. NOWAK TUMBLER REGISTERING MARK APPLICATOR Filed July 3l, 1964 4 Sheets-Shea?I 2 I INVENTOR.

Nav. 1, 1966 E. A NOWAK 3,282,245

TUMBLER REGISTERING MARK APPLICATOR Filed July 5l, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

[,/WMC/ 4 /I/WM' BYQYWf MAM No'ir. l, 19.66 E. A, NQWAK TUMBLER REGISTERING MARK APPLICATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 51, 1964 INVENTOR.

Ta/Waffel /lwak BY @ar M f United States Patent O 3 282 245 TUMBLER REGIsTERINi; MARK APPLiCAroR Edward A. Nowak, Toledo, Ghio, assignor to Owens- Illnois, Inc., a corporation of Ohio Filed July 31, 1964, Ser. No. 386,614 6 Claims. (Cl. 118-263) This invention relates to apparatus for applying a registering mark to glassware which is to be subjected to multiple registered decorating by the silk screen method.

More particularly, this invention relates to a marking device which applies a small registering mark to the side wall of a tumbler which is oriented with its axis horizontal and positioned on the tumbler supporting members of a silk screen decorating machine.

The importance of being able to apply the registering mark to tumblers which are to be subjected to multiple screenings is fully explained in applicants co-pending application Serial No. 372,871 filed June 5, 1964, entitled Screen Decorating Method. As explained in the above-referredto application, in order for plural decorations to be registered properly, where the tumbler is carried from one screen decorating machine to another and where individual decorations are applied, it is necessary that each screening lbe begun at a precise point determined by the position of a registering mark.

Previously, this mark had been applied by the screen operation of the first screen; however, as explained in the above-referred-to application, the outer surface of pastemold machine produced glassware is not the same nor is the height of the tumblers necessarily the same. It is because of this inherent lack of uniformity in the ware produced that the decoration of the ware by the silk screen method wherein plural screenings are used, that it becomes advisable to apply the registering mark to the tumbler separate from the screening of the first decoration.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of this invention to provide an article marking apparatus which is used in conjuction with presently existing silk screening machines for applying a registering mark to the side wall of the tumblers.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a novel marking apparatus which is fool proof in its operation and applies a mark which is of limited size so as not to detract from the appearance of the ware, yet is of sufficient size to permit the decorating machine operators to see the registering mark.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide apparatus `for applying a registering mark to the side wall of the glass tumbler while the tumbler is positioned in a silk screen decorating machine, which apparatus marks the tumbler at a predetermined point on the tumbler in relation to the application of the leading edge of the first screen decoration so that subsequent decorations will ybe in registry with all previous decoratioris.

Other and further objects will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the annexe-d sheets of drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, in part section, illustrating the marking device of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional View taken at line 2 2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a cross-.sectional view taken at line 3-3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 1, illustrating the marking device moved into contact with the tumbler to be marked; and,

FIG. 5 is a side elevational View of the marking device of FIGS. 1 and 4, illustrating the return movement of the tripper into position preparatory to actuating the marking needle on a subsequently positioned tumbler.

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In order to better understand the relationship of the present invention to a tumbler decorating machine, reference may be had to United States Patent No. 2,304,725 dated yDecember 8, 1942. This patent illustrates the conventional semi-automatic silk screen stenciling machine for glass tumblers and it will 4be readily apparent how the marking device of the present invention is adapted to such a decorating machine.

With reference to the drawings, a stationary, ware supporting portion of the machine, is terme-d base 10. In actual practice the base 10 is an elongated channel member having a slot or opening 11 formed along its length to which are adjustably mounted vertically extending rods 12 and 13 to which are rotatably fixed at their upper ends a set of tumbler supporting rollers 14 Vand 15. It should be understood that cross bars 16 are fixed to the upper end of the rods 12 and 13 and the rollers 14 and 15 are connected to their respective cross bars adjacent their ends and serve as the cradle for tumbler T which is to be decorated.

Beneath the tumbler T in the area between the rods 12 and 13 is positioned the marking device of the invention.

The marking device comprises a member- 17 which is formed with a well 18 in its upper surface within which a marking liquid is held. Adjacent the well 18, the member 17 is formed with a pair of outstanding ears 19 which support a :pivot pin 20 extending between the two ears 19. The pin 20 serves as the pivot support for a right-angled lever 21 having its horizontal leg 22 lying in abutting relationship with respect to the upper surface of the member 17. The vertical leg 23 of the lever 21 extends downwardly. The vertical leg 23 of the lever 21 has a central cut-out portion 24 within which a dog 25 is mounted on a pivot pin 26. The dog is fixed to the pivot pin 26; however, the pin is freely rotatable with respect to the vertical leg 23 of the lever 21. The dog 25 is elongated in shape; however, its edge 27 is normally held in abutting relationship with respect to the bottom surface of the cutout 24 and the lever' 21.

As can best be seen when viewing FIGS. 1, 4 an-d 5, the cut-out 24 has a configuration such that the dog 25 lcannot be rotated in a clockwise direction beyond the position of the dog shown in FIG. 1 without pivoting the lever 21. However, the dog may be rotated in a counterclockwise direction to la limited extent without causing movement of the lever 21. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

The pivot pin 26 has one end thereof extending beyond the side of the lever 21 to which an arm 28 is fixed. The arm 28 serves as a crank arm in relation to the pin 26 and carries a stud 29 fixed thereto. A second stud 30 fixed to the side of the member 17 at a substantially horizontally displaced position relative to the stud 29 serves as the anchor post for a biasing spring 31. DAs can `be seen when viewing FIG. 1, the spring 31 is under tension and by means of the arm 28, normally biases the dog 25 in a clockwise direction and maintains the dog in the position shown in FIG. 1.

The horizontal leg 22 of the lever 21 carries a marking needle 32 fixed thereto with the needle extending a short distance in a horizontal direction and then bends downwardly so that it is immersed in the well 18. The outer end of the needle 32 is pointed at 33 and this portion of the marking needle 32 is bent upwardly. The needle 32 is made of a strong, spring steel, construction so that it has flexibility with respect to its length. As shown in FIG. 1, the pointed end 33 of the needle 32 is likewise totally immersed in the marking liquid contained in the well 18 when in the nonmarking position. FIG. 1 illustrates the position of the needle during the D interval between actuation of the marking device of the invention.

The member 17 is fixed to a vertically extending bracket 34 by means of bolts 3S. The bracket 34 in turn is connected to a clamping bracket 36 by means of bolt 37 (see FIG. 2). The clamping bracket 36 embraces one side of the base 1t) with a portion thereof extending beneath the base. The portion which extends beneath the base is drilled to receive a bolt 33. The bolt 38 extends through the slot 11, formed in the base 1t), and the bolt threads into a clamping block 39 positioned above the slot 11. In this manner the horizontal position of the member 17 relative to the space between the rods 12 and 13 may be adjusted by loosening the bolt 3S and sliding the bracket 34 horizontally to the desired position. Also, the vertical height of the member 17 may be adjusted by loosening of the bolt 37 and adjusting the bracket 34 relative to lthe clamping bracket 36, it being understood that the bolt 37 extends through a vertical slot 40 formed in the bracket 34.

The lower end of the bracket 34 serves as the mounting member for a solenoid 41. The armature 42 of the solenoid 41 extends vertically and is connected to a rod 43. The rod 43, which is relatively long, is guided through openings formed in the member 17 with its upper end extending to a point adjacent to the top of the membe-r 17. The upper end of the rod 43 carries a trip per 44. The tripper, as can be seen when viewing FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, has a dog contacting portion 45. The rod normally is retained in the position shown in FIG. 1 by a compression spring 46 surrounding the rod 43 in a recess 47 formed in the side of the member 17. The spring bears against fthe bottom of the recess 47 and against a sleeve 48 clamped to the rod 43. In this manner the rod 43 is normally biased vertically upward.

Actuation or energization of the solenoid 41 causes its armature 42 to be pulled downward and in turn the rod 43 is reciprocated downward, as shown in FIG. 4. The end portion 45 of the tripper 44- will engage the dog 25 causing the lever 21 to pivot clockwise, raising the marking needle into contact with the side wall of the tumbler T. At the time the needle 32 is raised into contact with the tumbler T, the silk screen 49 carried by a screen frame t) is in Contact with the tumbler and prevents its moving upwardly off the support rollers 14 and 1S. Also, to prevent the possibility of the tumbler being moved ofl the supporting rollers 14 and 15, the interval when the marking is being made usually occurs when the squeegee 51 is in contact with the screen 49. In this manner lthe tumbler is biased downwardly to a certain extent. Furthermore, it should be understood that the needle 32, since it is formed of a flexible material, has the ability to accommodate itself to marking tumblers whose lower side wall surfaces, when positioned horizontal, are not always at the same vertical position relative to the marking point.

It also should be pointed out that it has been applicants experience that the marking needle 32 must have a sharp point in order to provide a clear, unsmeared registering dot on the side of the tumbler. Marking members with different end configurations were tried; however, it was found that blunt-ended members produced too large reference dots which had the tendency of smearing easily and other devices such as dies and applicators were ineffective over a long term operation, par-ticularly in the present situation where the marking liquid is a hot melt material requiring heat to maintain it in a flowable condition.

Obviously, the return of the marking device into the heated well of marking liquid is desirable, inasmuch as the material adhering to the needle will become reheated and the viscosity and surface area of the marking liquid which is applied to the tumbler will remain constant throughout the operation of the device for marking a great many tumblers.

In effect, the needle 32 is self-cleaning as it operates so that the marking apparatus of the invention is troublefree from the standpoint of maintenance.

As can be seen when viewing FIGS. 1 and 5, a cartridge heater 52 of the Well-known electrical type fits within the member 17 adjacent the well 18, and, with the application of current tothe leads 53 and 54 the marking liquid contained in the well 18 may be held at `a fixed temperature. It should also be recognized that the temperature to which the liquid is heated is important also from the standpoint that temperature greatly affects the viscosity of the ink or marking liquid.

As can be seen when viewing FIG. 5, with the return of the rod 43 and tripper, the dog 25 will pivot in a counter-clockwise direction against the bias of the spring 31; however, the lever 21 will have the portion 22 thereof in engagement with the top of the member 17, thus it cannot possibly be rotated any further. The lever 21 will have already been retracted from its marking position by a spring 55 which extends between studs 56 and 57, it being understood that the stud 56 is carried by the leg 23 of lever 21 adjacent the bottom thereof and the stud 57 is fixed to the member 17.

While the foregoing description has been specific as to the details of the invention as illustrated in the drawings, it should be understood that other modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Article marking apparatus comprising in combination a base, means for supporting an article in an elevated position with respect to said ibase and a marking device positioned on said base 'beneath the supported article, said marking device comprising a member clamped to said base and having a well formed in its upper surface containing 4a marking liquid, means carried by said member for heating said `member in the `region of said well to maintain the marking liquid at a preselected viscosity, a lever pivotally connected to said member adjacent said well with a portion of said lever abutting the upper surface of said member, spring :means connected to said lever for biasing said lever into abutting relationship with respect to said member, an elongated marking needle connected to said lever and extending into said well with its end totally immersed therein, ya dog pivotally connected to said lever engageable therewith, means biasing said dog for pivoting it in one direction, said lever including a portion engageable with said dog and rotating said lever in said one direction, said dog being free to pivot relative to said lever in the opposite direction, a tripper, means connecting the tripper and a carriage rod, guide means connected to t-he rod defining a path of movement providing engagement thereof with said dog, and means connected to said rod for reciprocating same, said tripper, upon engaging said dog in said one direction of movement pivoting said lever to raise the marking needle from the well and into contact with a supported article, said tripper on its movement in the opposite direction causing the dog to pivot independent of the lever, the marking needle being returned to the well by its said spring means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said marking needle comprises a flexible member formed with a sharp point on its marking end.

3. Article marking apparatus comprising in com-bination a base, means for supporting an article in an elevated position with respect to said lbase and a marking device positioned on said base beneath the. supported article, said marking device `comprising a member clamped to said base and having a well formed in its upper surface containing a marking liquid, a lever pivotally connected to said member adjacent said well, an elongated marking needle connected to said lever and extending into said well with its end totally immersed therein, a dog pivotally connected to said lever, means biasing said dog into abutting relationship With respect to a portion of said lever, said dog being free to pivot relative to said lever in a direction opposite to the direction in which it is lbiased, a tripper, means connected to said tripper for reciprocating same into eng-agement with said dog, said tripper, upon engaging said dog in one direction of movement, driving said lever by the latter to pivot about i-ts axis and thereby raise the marking needle from the well into contact with a supported article, and s-aid tripper in its return movement in the opposite direction permitting the dog to pivot independent of the lever, and spring means connected to said lever for basing said lever in a downward direction thereby lowering the marking needle onto the well.

4. Article marking app-aratus comprising a member having a Well formed in its upper surface containing a marking liquid, means carried by said member for heating said member -in the region of said well to maintain the marking liquid at a preselected viscosity, a lever pivotally connected to said member adjacent said well with a portion of said lever abutting the upper surface of said member, spring means connected to said lever for biasing said lever into abutting relationship with respect to said member, an elongated marking needle connected to said lever and extending into said well with its marking end totally immersed therein, an actuating dog pivotally connected to said lever, means biasing said dog into lever abutting relationship, said dog being Afree to pivot relative to said lever in a direction opposite to the direction in which it is biased, a tripper, means connected to said tripper for reciprocating same and guiding it for engagement with said dog, said tripper, upon engaging said dog `in one direction of movement, causing said lever to pivot about its axis and raise the marking needle from the well into contact with an article supported thereabove, and said tripper on its movement in the opposite direction causing the dog to pivot independent of the lever and permit the lever to return the marking needle to the well.

5. Article marking -appartus comprising a member having a well forme-d in its upper surface containing a marking liquid, means carried Iby said member for heating s-aid member in the region of said well to maintain the marking liquid at a preselected viscosity, a right angle lever pivotally connected to said member adjacent said well with the horizontal leg of said lever abutting the upper surface of said member, spring means connected to said lever for biasing the horizontal leg of said lever into abutting relationship with respect to said member, an elongated marking needle connected to said lever and extending into said well with its marking end totally immersed therein, an actuating dog pivotally connected to said lever, means biasing said dog into lever abutting relationship, said dog being free to pivot relative to said lever in a direction opposite to the direction in which it is biased, a tripper, means connected to said tripper for reciprocating same in a path for engagement of it with said dog, said tri-pper, upon engaging said dog in one direction of movement, causing said lever to pivot about its axis and raise the marking needle from the well into contact with an article supported thereabove, and on its movement in the opposite direction c-ausing the dog to pivot independent of the lever and permit return of marking needle to the well.

6. Article marking apparatus comprising a member having a well formed inits upper surface containing a marking liquid, means carried by said member for heating said member in the region of said well to maintain the marking liquid at a preselected viscosity, a right angle lever pivotally connected to said member adjacent said well with the horizontal leg of said lever abutting the upper `surface of said member, spring means connected to said lever -for biasing the horizontal leg of said lever into abutting relationship with respect to said member, an elongated marking needle connected to said lever and extending into said well with its marking end totally immersed therein, said lever having a downwardly extending leg with a cut-out formed therein, an actuating dog pivotally connected to the downwardly extend-ing leg of said lever within said cut-out, means biasing said dog into lever abutting relationship, said dog being free to pivot relative to said lever in a direction opposite to the direction in which it is biased, a tripper, means connected to said tripper for .reciprocating same in a path of engagement with said dog, said tripper, upon engaging s-aid dog in one direction of movement, causing said lever to pivot about its axis and raise the marking needle from the Well into contact with an article supported thereabove, and on its movement in the opposite direction causing the return of the marking needle to the well and out of contact with said article.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,113,413 4/1938 Sloan 101-124 2,113,603 4/ 1938 Schutz 101-124 2,150,522 3/1939 Shurley et al. lOl-38 2,304,725 12/ 1942 Bauman lOl-124 2,559,455 7/ 1951 Meyer 101-44 3,086,458 4/ 1963 Shafer 101-115 3,109,365 11/ 1963 Karlyn lOl-124 WILLIAM B. PENN, Primary Examiner. 

1. ARTICLE MARKING APPARATUS COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A BASE, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING AN ARTICLE IN AN ELEVATED POSITION WITH RESPECT TO SAID BASE AND A MARKING DEVICE POSITIONED ON SAID BADE BENEATH THE SUPPORTED ARTICLE, SAID MARKING DEVICE COMPRISING A MEMBER CLAMPED TO SAID BASE AND HAVING A WELL FORMED IN ITS UPPER SURFACE CONTAINING A MARKING LIQUID, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID MEMBER FOR HEATING SAID MEMBER IN THE REGION OF SAID WELL TO MAINTAIN THE MARKING LIQUID AT A PRESELECTED VISCOSITY, A LEVER PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID MEMBER ADJACENT SAID WELL WITH A PORTION OF SAID LEVER ABUTTING THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID MEMBER, SPRING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID LEVER FOR BIASING SAID LEVER INTO ABUTTING RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO SAID MEMBER, AN ELONGATED MARKING NEEDLE CONNECTED TO SAID LEVER AND EXTENDING INTO SAID WELL WITH ITS END TOTALLY IMMERSED THEREIN, A DOG PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID LEVER ENGAGEABLE THEREWITH, MEANS BIASING SAID DOG FOR PIVOTING IT IN ONE DIRECTION, SAID LEVER INCLUDING A PORTION ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID DOG AND ROTATING SAID LEVER IN SAID ONE DIRECTION, SAID DOG BEING FREE TO PIVOT RELATIVE TO SAID LEVER IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, A TRIPPER, MEANS CONNEECTING THE TRIPPER AND A CARRIAGE ROD, GUIDE MEANS CONNECTED TO THE ROD DEFINING A PATH OF MOVEMENT PROVIDING ENGAGEMENT THEREOF WITH SAID DOG, AND MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID ROD FOR RECIPROCATING SAME, SAID TRIPPER, UPON ENGAGING SAID DOG IN SAID ONE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT PIVOTING SAID LEVER TO RAISE THE MARKING NEEDLE FROM THE WELL AND INTO CONTACT WITH A SUPPORTED ARTICLE, SAID TRIPPER ON ITS MOVEMENT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION CAUSING THE DOG TO PIVOT INDEPENDENT OF THE LEVER, THE MARKING NEEDLE BEING RETURNED TO THE WELL BY ITS SAID SPRING MEANS. 